Tolerance cannot be measured in terms of degrees of intolerance. I am essentially opposed to burning books even when they incite others to violence. But freedom is either an absolute or it is conditioned on not inciting others to violence. Anything else is rationalized bigotry.

Search This Blog

Monday, May 13, 2013

Death By a Thousand Cuts

There has been some discussion in the
newspapers about ‘contextualizing hatred’. It was Britain’s
own minister for the Middle East, Mr Alistair
Burt who said this. We must never accuse our politicians of ethical thinking.
‘Context’ is a nice way to say that we can justify bigotry and even, joy of
joys, sympathize with racial prejudice.There
is nothing as comforting as familiarity. I grew up in Australia and
my winters were ‘cold’ but the flora was green and the skies grey. Our suburban
flora changed very little between the two seasons of summer and winter. I immigrated
to an even colder, temperate climate and discovered the reality of experiencing
two more seasons. Spring and autumn were spectacularly beautiful but winter was
filled with deciduous death and decay. It was visually depressing. To many people
born into this cycle, winter induces a recognized psychological illness called
SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). My point is that we are as accustomed to
celebrating our fears and our prejudices as we are, our seasons of hibernation
and renewal.

The problem is that in times of disruption and
change in our life we cling to the familiarity of our past experiences and
learned behaviors because the familiar, even the negative, is a kind of
comfort. Racism and religious bigotry does not need logic to flourish, just a
means of dispersal and a justification (or ‘Context’).

The pampered years that followed the 1970’s
nurtured us towards an understanding that anything was possible and that
instant gratification was desirable, because if you did not get there first
someone else would. It was fun while it lasted but it also taught us that we
did not need to respect those with whom we disagree because having the
self-confidence to achieve an aim is not dependent on that aim being correct or
desirable, only achievable.

When the bubble burst it dashed the hopes of
the many that missed out!And it led us
into the worst economic crisis since the Depression of 1929.It also led us into a democratic crisis of
confidence that continues to unfold across the globe. The British media corruptly obtained
information through subterfuge and dishonesty but everyone did it and only the (foreign)
Murdoch Empire was punished for it. The judicial public inquiry (The Leveson Inquiry)
that examined the overall industries failures and made a series of
recommendations was a waste of time because no-one in the industry accepted
their culpability – except of course Murdoch. It was a classic snow job.

Frustration and anger requires an outlet.Traditionally, we human beings have engaged
in warfare to satisfy the urge for revenge. It remains a ‘necessary’ release
that protects the ruling classes from the inability of the ruled to accept that
they are powerless to attain justice when they are wronged. It is why Western
law accepts that justice must not only be done but must also be SEEN to be
done. The cynic would modify the aphorism to: Justice does not need to be done;
it only needs to BE seen to be done.

This is where we weave warfare into the social
tapestry. With its royal tentacles spread throughout Europe (the Russian,
German and British Royal Families were all related through Queen Victoria’s offspring) World
War One was seen as an exciting adventure by its most upper of classes, an
adventure that ultimately led to the violent deaths of over fifty million
people.

In order to foment conflict, humanity bathes
itself in a comforting pool of self-righteous superiority and self-assured contentment.
When we are all wrapped up in multiple layers of a familiar and consoling
prejudice it is easier to accept a bleak future knowing that deep down it is
all someone elses' fault.

And so we return to ‘contextualizing
hatred’.It is reason enough to fight
every insult or imputed slander.In an
era where identities are confused or in transition we should be wary of any
slight. It is not oversensitivity but awareness that the cumulative effect of
the accusation or lie is more important than the single barb. It is not necessarily
a single cut that kills. Methodical slicing incapacitates the victim until the delivery
of the coup de grace.